Individual School Information - T-V

updated September 2018 latest data being inserted

You will find an article on 2018 oversubscription data for grammar schools here, and for non-selective schools here. For Grammar School Preferences, only grammar qualified are counted. The PAN is the Published Admission Number and refers to the number of places available in the year group for each school. If additional places were offered, I have recorded this under PAN.

A Report on 2017 Appeals Outcomes here. For Attainment 8 and Progress 8 and further information on the performance of all Kent schools with 2017 GCSE scores go to here for explanation.

Thamesview School,Gravesend. Usually oversubscribed, like all Gravesham secondary schools, although may have vacancies after grammar school appeals. OFSTED November 2014 - Good (yet again).GCSE performance consistently sound.

Tonbridge Grammar School (for girls). Academy. Regularly wins accolades for being one of the top schools in the country. Is committed to the International Baccalaureate throughout the school, still an unusual choice for a state school, so you should satisfy yourself this is right for the girl. With the Weald of Kent Grammar opening its annexe in Sevenoaks for 2018, the number of local girls' grammar places continues to rise. Has selected on high scores in two categories, currently 135 girls in local area,35 'outers' and 10 top scoring Pupil Premium (check details). OFSTED June 2007 - Outstanding. The school became an academy in 2012, so as an Outstanding school has not yet met the requirement of another OFSTED since 2007!

INITIAL ALLOCATIONS

PAN

1st

prefs

1st prefs

not offered

'Inners' points

cut off above

pass

'Outers' points

cut off above

pass

2014

173

207

44

41

44

2015

173

234

77

36

55

2016

173

308

142

46

61

2017

180

325

151

52

75

2018

180

276

103

49

74

2019

180

284

APPEALS FOR SCHOOL PLACES

Appeals Heard

Upheld

2014

13

7

2015

38

10

2016

62

8

2017

51

4

2018

39

2

For 2017, all four successful appeals were from the 47 girls who had passed the Kent Test

PERFORMANCE DATA

Progress 8

Attainment 8

% 5A*-C (inc

Eng and Maths)

A Level

Progress

2014

n/a

n/a

97

2015

n/a

n/a

99

2016

0.75

76.7

Grade 5

Eng & Maths

2017

0.89 (WAA)

77.9

99%

Bacc

2018

0.83(WAA)

77.9

98%

Low staying on rate into Sixth Form at just 87% in 2016 (over half of Kent grammar schools have a net increase admitting students from other, often non-selective schools), up to 91% in 2017. The actual figure will be lower than this as there will be girls joining the Sixth Form form from other schools, replacing some who had left.

Towers School, Ashford. Now an Academy. OFSTED October 2016: Requires Improvement(third in a row). Was hit badly in terms of intake with the opening of the Wye Free School. However the gloss has come off this, and first preferences have recovered. Although no vacancies on allocation, Ashford grammars take a large number on appeal so the number of vacancies will increase.

INITIAL ALLOCATIONS

PAN

1st

preferences

Vacant

places

2014

243

105

123

2015

243

129

79

2016

243

127

67

2017

243

162

37

2018

243

211

0

2019

243

224

2014 - 2018 all first preferences offered

2014 - 2018 no appeals for school admission

PERFORMANCE DATA

Progress 8

Attainment 8

% 5A*-C (inc

Eng and Maths)

A Level

Progress

2014

n/a

n/a

41

2015

n/a

n/a

32

2016

0.01

45.3

Grade 5

Eng & Maths

2017

-0.41 (BA)

39.1

26%

-0.11(A)

2018

-0.37(BA)

35.6

25%

Low Progress 8 and Attainment 8 GCSE outcomes for 2017, does not appear to have impacted on rising numbers.

Trinity School, Sevenoaks. Initial small intake of 120 pupils. Heavily oversubscribed with first choices, so expanded to 180.. For further information go to here. The school offers up to half its places to 'Christian families, defined as families where at least one parent / carer and the student consistently attend a Christian Church at least twice per month for a period of at least two years', most of the rest after the common exceptions awarded on distance grounds, the catchment area each year being tight around the school. A Free School set up in September 2013, moved into new premises in September 2016 on the same site as the new Sevenoaks Grammar annexe, which was opened in September 2017. OFSTED June 2015 - Good, . although like other new schools, is it valid with no public examinations and running at half size. Ofsted Good again in Oct 2018. As it is not possible to report on whether or not the school meets the government’s current floor standards - how can Ofsted judge the school to be good? The school's first headteacher, Matthew Tate, having set the school on a good start, left in August 2016, to go on to Hartsdown Academy.

Tunbridge Wells Girls Grammar School. Once again, in November 2011, the school was found Outstandingby OFSTED.One of the minority of Kent secondaries, not an academy, but classified as Foundation, giving it some independence from KCC. Priority for places given to grammar qualified girls in named West Kent parishes, but not all will get in. girls attracting Pupil Premium living in the parishes will have priority, as will 14 girls awarded Governors Places for high performance in the Kent Test who would not otherwise qualify on distance grounds, but are also in the named parishes. Academically high performing school with results at GCSE and A Level comparable with local super-selective schools. High expectations of students.

INITIAL ALLOCATIONS

PAN

1st

preferences

1st preferences

not offered

2014

140

142

6

2015

140

157

27

2016

140

134

9

2017

145

142

21

2018

145

160

22

2019

145

113

APPEALS FOR SCHOOL PLACES

Appeals Heard

Upheld

2014

26

7

2015

27

7

2016

25

6

2017

26

6

2018

26

6

Runs its own Independent Appeals Panel, which tends to award fewer than 10 places on appeal. In years when the school is well oversubscribed, and this can include some second choices, a very strong case is needed for girls who are initially non-selective. No appeals success for girls not qualified through Kent Test in 2018 or 2017.

Tunbridge Wells Grammar School for Boys. Usually oversubscribed with first choices initially, but there is a fall off in the number of boys actually taking up places. Priority given to boys in named West Kent parishes. OFSTED January 2017 - Good. The school has now increased its intake by 60 places in recent years. It remains one of the few county controlled grammar schools. No vacant places on allocation in March, although there is considerable 'churn' in boys' grammar school places in West Kent, due to boys taking up places in private schools and the super-selectives. Pressure eased as the Judd has expanded, and changed its own admission rules to give priority to West Kent boys, and Skinners has also expanded and is about to place a similar constraint on non-local applicants. Many initially unsuccessful applicants get offered places during the churn.

INITIAL ALLOCATIONS

PAN

1st

preferences

1st preferences

not offered

2014

180

146

36

2015

180

76

0

2016

180

95

12

2017

210

122

26

2018

240

126

5

2019

210

77

In 2017, the final intake in September was 220 after appeals. In 2018 it was 232.

APPEALS FOR SCHOOL PLACES

Appeals Heard

Upheld

2014

50

43

2015

51

28

2016

40

37

2017

41

14

2018

75

32

Unusually, the school is still fully county maintained, and so under the control of KCC, so appeals success rates can reflect county's response to pressure on places in West Kent. The number of appeals is high, with both oversubscription and non-selective cases heard. The normal high rate of success is also indicative of the changing population over this period, the school often looking (or being asked) to admit additional forms of entry.

The school opened in September 2018 for 120 Year 7 pupils on the site of the now defunct Pent Valley School. Is reported to have filled for September, official data not yet available as applications for new schools tend to be outside the Kent Admission process. This is at the expense of Folkestone Academy which has some 70 pupils in Year 7 fewer than for 2017, but is also run by the same Trust, Turner Schools. I have written extensively on the scandal of the Trust and its schools, most recently here.

INITIAL ALLOCATIONS

PAN

1st

preferences

1st preferences

not offered

2018

180

149

APPEALS FOR SCHOOL PLACES

Appeals Heard

Upheld

2018

Ursuline College, Westgate-on-Sea. This Catholic School has a background as a girls private school, but is now a mixed state school. Strongly catholic, with conservative discipline.OFSTED June 2012 - Good. Now an academy, Part of the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership. Has expanded twice in response to massive pressure on places in Thanet schools.

Valley Park School, Maidstone. Is an Academy along with its Federated partner, Invicta Grammar School in the expansive Valley Invicta Academies Trust. OFSTED April 2013 - second consecutive Outstanding inspection. By far the most popular school in Maidstone, having been consistently one of the three most oversubscribed non-selective schools in Kent (second in 2018) The school has an unusual main admission criteria giving priority to children for whom it is the nearest school, rather than allocating on distance from the school. Plenty of concerns from parents who lost out as a result, but rules followed, so read them carefully! There is a local house price premium because of popularity.

Valley Invicta Trust planned to open a new Six Form entry non-selective school in 2017 on the same site and adjacent to Invicta Grammar School. This is to be called the Maidstone School of Science and Technology, but its start has been caught up in planning issues relating to congestion on nearby roads, most recently seen through a Public Enquiry. The school website hardly encourages faith it is going to happen! This is a reflection of Maidstone's current rapid growth, with the Trust schools present popularity suggesting both schools are likely to be very popular, at the expense of others.

INITIAL ALLOCATIONS

PAN

1st

preferences

1st preferences

not offered

2014

240

265

50

2015

240

358

145

2016

270

371

116

2017

270

424

179

2018

270

435

183

2019

240

431

The school has expanded rapidly since 2012 when it had just 180 spaces.